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For all the appeal of the Mario and DDR franchises, Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix was released into relative obscurity despite a difficulty range that catered to everyone from beginners to moderate DDR experts.

Nintendo charm meets the addictive workout of DDR in this rare Gamecube title.

With the backwards compatibility of the Nintendo Wii encouraging me to revisit this heart-rate boosting game (an aerobic workout before aerobic workout games were the norm), I hooked up the Nintendo Gamecube DDR mat to the Gamecube controller input on the Wii console and danced around for a few days, posting new scores and beating old ones on the games Very Hard difficulty mode (I’m only just now getting skilled enough to leap to Super Hard.)

What I like most about DDR in general, is that with enough discipline to keep moving in between songs, this game provides a consistent, aerobic workout to rival any other game out there. The songs in the Mario Mix are fun and often nostalgic for longtime Nintendo fans, although attempts at a single-player storymode and a mode where some arrows are replaced by Mario enemies that travel up the screen in unusual patterns are largely forgettable experiences.

This impressive YouTube video shows why the Super Hard mode takes some warming up to. This is the toughest song in the game. Try to tap along from your seat, it’s still hard to do!

Overall, this game holds up today with impressive visuals, a unique track list and the novelty of being in vogue alongside other modern day workout games. The only trouble is it’s going to be a tough one to track down. It disappeared quickly from stores even when the Gamecube was the current Nintendo console, so that means it’s much more rare today.

So, we’ll see if I can stick with DDR, posting new scores and attempting the Super Hard mode long enough to burn some calories and maybe drop a pound or two. DDR is probably the tried-and-true workout technique for many gamers, and Mario Mix is a nice way to get back into the exercise habit.

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